Listening to Uncle Li Qian's words, Yi Xiaofei stood up, still holding sunflower seeds in his hand, and walked towards Proprietress Ye Mengyan. Given the situation, Yi Xiaofei knew that if he didn't step in, the proprietress would definitely suffer a loss. Not just the proprietress—once a fight broke out, the cooks under Uncle Li Qian would not be able to handle these thugs.
As Yi Xiaofei approached, Li Qian thought he had lost his mind, while Proprietress Ye Mengyan was feeling quite uncomfortable under the lewd gazes of those men.
But the next moment, Yi Xiaofei, still popping sunflower seeds, walked up to the bald thug known as Lord Hu. He casually tossed the seeds in his left hand into Lord Hu's face, then slapped him. A crisp sound rang out, and the slap caught Lord Hu completely off guard, stupefying him!
When had Lord Hu ever been so dumbfounded? Everyone present was shocked.
At that moment, Li Qian looked at his nephew with his mouth agape, thinking this wasn't a case of taking the wrong medicine—his nephew must literally be sick in the head. Today, he must have forgotten his medication, to actually hit the leader of these ruffians.
"Get lost from where you came from!"
"Your grandpa's grandpa! You dare to hit me, hit me again if you have the guts. Come abuse me if you can!"
Enraged, Lord Hu raised his fist, ready to hit Yi Xiaofei. But for Yi Xiaofei, Lord Hu's punch was too slow. He quickly turned around, snatched a kitchen knife from the proprietress, and in the next moment, placed it against Lord Hu's throat. With the knife at his throat, Lord Hu's lackeys didn't dare to make a move.
Feeling the knife against his neck sobered Lord Hu up quite a bit from his drunken stupor—now he was completely sober.
"Tsk tsk! This knife is used for chopping meat, and it's really sharp! Imagine what would happen if I cut down—just thinking about it scares me a bit! You mustn't frighten me, you know? If you scare me and my hand shakes, the knife might just slip!"
Yi Xiaofei smirked as he spoke, sending chills down Lord Hu's spine.
"Brother! Let's talk this out, no need for knives, right? Let's value peace and not hurt the feelings!"
"Who was it just now saying, 'Hit me! Abuse me if you have the guts!'?"
Yi Xiaofei used the flat of the blade to pat Lord Hu's face, which prompted the lackeys to shout, "Damn brat, let go of Lord Hu, or you'll regret it!"
"Dare to threaten me!"
"Outrageous! How do you talk to the young brother? Pay up quickly, pay the proprietress!"
Lord Hu was panicking now; after all, his life wasn't worth a meal. They had intended to intimidate the staff here to a large extent, and if things escalated, it wouldn't end well for them either.
"Lord Hu! Are we scared of them?"
"Damn it! The knife isn't at your throat, so you can talk without feeling the pain! Are you trying to revolt or what!"
With a curse from Lord Hu, someone immediately gathered the money and placed it on the table.
"Brother! Look, the money has been paid, so can you put down the knife now?"
Seeing Yi Xiaofei somewhat subdued, Yi Xiaofei flashed a grin at Lord Hu and skillfully flipped the kitchen knife in his hand. After a swift turn, the blade swept past Lord Hu's waist, and down came his trousers.
Everyone on the scene burst into laughter, with wide eyes and small. Even Lord Hu's underlings couldn't help but laugh!
"Nice taste! Quite the girlish heart you have there! Not bad! But maybe we should change your name from Lord Hu to Lady Hu now!"
The sight was undoubtedly jarring, utterly incongruent with Lord Hu's external image.
"You... you..."
The humiliation made Lord Hu quickly pull up his pants and run outside, his buttocks wiggling. His demeanor at that moment seemed a bit camp!
"You little brat, just wait for us!"
Lord Hu's lackeys, with faces full of gloom, felt disgraced to acknowledge such a leader. They took a good mental note of Yi Xiaofei; they were determined to make him pay later.
"Xiaofei! Well done! These jerks are truly shameless!"
Proprietress Ye Mengyan, watching the people leave, now not only drove them away but also got the meal money.
"Proprietress! Those guys look like they'll want revenge... What... what do we do?"
There were girls in the restaurant, and the concerns multiplied—upsetting them this time didn't mean problems would be avoided next time.
"What's there to fear? With the proprietress here, anyone wanting to take advantage will have to get past me first! And besides, we've got Xiaofei, don't we? You men, look at yourselves, not one of you has the guts Xiaofei does. He knows to strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter; Xiaofei did well there! To tell you the truth, he's got my flair. If Xiaofei hadn't acted, I'd have put the knife at Lord Hu's throat myself!"
The proprietress's boasting knew no bounds; she spun a tale as if she would have intervened herself.
"Xiaofei! To reward you, from now on you no longer have to live with your Uncle Li Qian! You'll stay in the apartment next to mine; that room is bigger and much more comfortable!"
Proprietress Ye Mengyan spoke again. Her offer made many envious, considering the room next to hers was twice the size of a regular employee's and had comparable decor to her own quarters.
But Yi Xiaofei knew it was because the proprietress was a bit scared; having him next door would at least give her a sense of security. He could sense any trouble the moment it arose.
"Lucky bastard! Damn it, only been at Fate Restaurant for a few days!"
Li Qian muttered under his breath. His nephew was too fortunate—living in the room next door, which had a shared balcony with the proprietress's room. Previously, a valued female staff member had lived there, but she thought herself too good and left for another job. Now, his nephew might have the chance for close contact with the proprietress; it was enviable indeed.